A new mentoring program aimed at students ranging from 7th to 10th grade is launching this summer, with the goal of pairing 25 mentors up with 25 mentees for one-hour sessions each week throughout the next two years.

The program, funded by a $62,500 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) of the Department of Justice, is being operated out of the Warren Parks and Recreation Department and strives to create opportunities for youth to engage in meaningful mentorship opportunities with adults to help steer them towards productive paths and away from destructive ones.

Although the program is specifically geared towards raising awareness about opioid addiction and keeping kids away from drugs, the mentoring program provides an opportunity for much more than that.

“I’m hoping for a little bit of everything,” said Tara Thibaudeau, Parks and Recreation Director and the director of the youth mentoring program. “I think every child needs something different. Especially in this moment in time we’ve been having difficulty with a lot of kids, whether it’s because of Covid or not…It’s really geared towards anybody who feels a child could use a little extra attention or help, or learn a skill, or have a little guidance.”

The grant is paying for the extra time put in by Thibaudeau to set up the program, as well as an assistant to help with sorting data from continuous surveys conducted throughout the program, in addition to scheduling and communicating with mentors and mentees and their parents. Warren was one of just five communities to receive the grant throughout an application pool that included all of rural New England.

Mentors and mentees needed
Central to the program is getting mentors and mentees to apply for the program.

Mentors can come from anywhere, they don’t have to be Warren residents. They must be 21 years old or older, with a clean criminal and driving record and an ability to commit an hour each week for a year with their mentee.

Applications for mentors are available on the Parks and Recreation section of the town website. Prospective mentors must fill out the application, which includes personal references, and undergo a criminal background check. Mentors must also undergo a two-hour initial training process and commit to two additional training sessions throughout the year.

Families who may be interested in signing their children up to be mentees for the program can also find an application on the Parks and Recreation section of the town website. Mentees must be from Warren and be willing to commit to the program for at least one year, and be able to set aside an hour a week to meet with their mentor. Parents should also be willing to participate in some capacity within the program.

“Parental involvement is a must, and it’s not something we can force any of the mentees to do,” Thibaudeau said. “It has to be something they want to participate in.”

What will the program look like?
Thibaudeau said in a recent interview that the program can take many forms. Mentors and mentees can work out schedules that work for both of them, whether that be on evenings during the week or on weekends. There is no one formula for the relationship.

“It could be we’re looking to match two people who just want to talk. It could be pairing someone up who is lost and not really sure what road they want to go down. We could pair them up with someone to help them navigate options and opportunities,” Thibaudeau said. “It’s all about options and opportunities.”

Thibaudeau said there is also an opportunity for group mentoring sessions with multiple mentor/mentee pairs in the event there is a commonly shared interest among participants. The federal guidelines for the grant also require at least three larger events where the families and greater community are invited to join. She envisioned Burr’s Hill Park being a likely spot for such an event, with one event possible at the end of the summer.

Such an event could also double as a fundraising opportunity for the program to help them become self-sustaining and propel the program forward beyond the initial two-year grant period.

“I would like it to grow,” Thibaudeau said. “I’m very focused and passionate about giving these kids more in terms of the next part of their lives — the next chapter. What are the opportunities and the options out there? One of the things I feel that happens is you get all these kids and they don’t have hope, or skills, they have no work ethic, and they’re not marketable. So then we put them into the world and we wonder why they aren’t successful. Another thing I’d like to build upon this is career fairs, and not just non-college-bound opportunities, but what else is out there? What are you interested in?”

Thinking towards the big picture, Thibaudeau said she hopes that the program can help to re-strengthen community bonds that have been weakened by the pandemic.

“Having respect for your community, it’s all something I think we’ve been lacking in the community, and with Covid, it’s like it’s on high alert,” she said. “So, how do we bring the community back together? How do we get the adults to be invested in the kids and the kids to be invested in their community?”